3. Singh (2011) Managing Employee Compensation and Benefits.
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ADpXq4iQ-
U (Short Webcast)
The Best Ways to Reward Employees (no date). Retrieved
from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/75340 (A short article
on how to reward employees
Liraz (no date) BizMove Business Guides: “Employee Training
and Development” (HTML) Retrieved
from: http://www.bizmove.com/personnel/m4d.htm(General
discussion about training and development)
Heathfield (2016) “Tips to Make Training and Development
Work” (HTML)http://humanresources.about.com/od/trainingtran
sfer/a/training_work.htm (General article on how to make
training work)
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Capital” (YouTube) Retrieved
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-fgNdk99Vw (Short
video regarding making best use of employees)
“The Importance of KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and
Abilities)” (2009) Retrieved from
http://www.va.gov/JOBS/hiring/apply/ksa.asp
Southwood School: A Case Study
in Recruitment and Selection
By Fiona L. Robson
STAFFING MANAGEMENT
7. Recruitment
For many years, Southwood relied on a single recruitment
method: to advertise
all teaching positions in a specialist newspaper publication
called TES (Times
Educational Supplement). Basic advertisements were placed in
this publication one
time, and interested candidates were instructed to contact the
school to request an
application package.
The application package included the following information:
Additional information was sometimes enclosed, but this
depended on the
department head advertising the vacancy. Additional
information could include:
Examples of departmental projects (e.g., the head of the French
included information about student exchanges and visits to
France that students
and faculty had taken).
A copy of the school development plan for the next three years.
Other schools in the area also used TES for recruitment, but in
8. addition, they
placed advertisements in a local newspaper and on a web site
for teaching vacancies.
Some schools even launched a page on their school web site to
enable candidates to
download all of the application information.
Selecting the Right Candidates
Candidates submitted an application form along with contact
information for
two people who could provide references, and returned the
information to the
appropriate department head. Once the closing date had passed,
three staff members
reviewed the applications independently and graded them A, B
or C (where A is
the highest mark and C is the lowest) based on the candidate’s
ability to meet the
selection criteria. The panel would then convene to discuss the
A-rated application
forms and agree on a list of candidates who would be invited to
attend a selection
day. The staff members assessing the applications were usually
teachers from the
relevant subject area. Training was not offered to panel
members to help them to
select the best candidates.
Before selection day, references would be requested for all
candidates (see the
Reference Request Letter). Copies of the references would be
provided to interview
panel members; employment offers were contingent on the
receipt of satisfactory
references.
10. wide range of issues
with the candidates.
The panel consisted of the following staff members:
Due to time constraints, panel members were usually unable to
meet in advance, so
they developed their interview questions independently.
Although the principal chaired the interviews, they were rarely
carried out in the
same manner and there was not a high level of consistency with
the questions. No
formal scoring system was used. At the end of the interviews,
there was a panel vote
to see which candidate should be offered the job. This often led
to a heated debate
about candidate strengths and weaknesses.
Candidates usually remained at the school until a decision was
reached so they could
be informed personally of the outcome. If they were unable to
wait for the outcome,
they were phoned later that day with the decision. Unsuccessful
candidates received
some brief verbal feedback, but were not asked for comments on
their interview
experience. Unsuccessful candidates would sometimes contact
12. The materials in the recruitment package were basic and not
designed, which may have failed to impress potential
applicants.
The selection methods used were limited, and had not kept up
with tren
other organizations.
Candidates were being hired on the basis of a good interview.
and ability was unknown.
Staff on the interview panels had not been trained, and in the
potentially discriminatory questions.
There was little chance of internal promotions because career
focus within the school or encouraged within the recruitment
and selection policy.
Lack of an objective scoring system resulted in complaints from
unsuccess
candidates who did not understand why they did not get the job.
Part II
Improving the Recruitment Methods
The HR manager continued to advertise teaching jobs in TES in
line with local
and national competitors, but re-designed the standard layout
and content of
advertisements to be more engaging and informative. In the
future, advertisements
for all teaching jobs will also be placed in the local newspaper
14. The changes to the recruitment approach were evaluated after
six months. Positive
outcomes were identifi ed:
More candidates were accessing the information provided on the
the school’s web site and through e-mailed requests for
application packages.
Candidate diversity was higher than in previous recruitment
The number of people who applied for a job after requesting
increased.
There was positive feedback about the quality and quantity of
provided to candidates.
More than 75 percent of unsuccessful candidates said they
position at Southwood, indicating that the school had made a
positive fi rst
impression. This also suggests that candidates thought that the
selection methods
were fair and transparent. Feedback also indicated that
candidates enjoyed talking
to both staff and students and that this, combined with the
school’s plan for future
development, had left positive impressions.
Enhancing Selection Methods
The school had relied on interviews as their sole selection
method. The HR manager
15. and principal did not think that this method was suffi cient. It
was decided that
all candidates for teaching vacancies should deliver a brief
teaching session while
being observed by a senior teacher. Teaching observation
sessions enabled the senior
teacher to assess the following knowledge and skills:
Candidates were informed in advance to prepare a 20-minute
teaching session.
At the end of the sessions, the observer gave comments and
ratings to the main
interview panel. The ratings system involved the observer’s
ratings in the six areas
shown (1 being the minimum and 10 being the maximum
number of points).
Observers were also asked to give examples (where possible) to
justify their score.
Following discussions with stakeholders (including the student
council) it was
decided that students should have input into the selection
process. To achieve this,
student interview panels were added to the selection process.
17. Southwood has not adopted any of the more innovative selection
methods such as
psychometric testing, but the principal has promised to consider
them in the future
if a strong argument could be presented.
Anecdotal feedback was gathered from successful candidates,
who offered the
following comments:
“It was good to get to meet the students to fi nd out what they
about the school.”
“I found the day quite intensive as there were lots of things to
good idea about how the school is run.”
“The informal interview panel was a bit nerve–wracking, as I
what the aim of it was—it seemed quite personal.”
“The chance to meet lots of different people was good and I
type of school that I wanted to work in.”
A limitation of this feedback is that it was gained from only
successful candidates. It
would have been interesting to hear the views of those who did
not get the job.
There has been a 10 percent increase in the number of internal
candidates applying
for promotions and a small decline in the number of staff
leaving the organization.
21. Refreshments and
opportunity to meet with
potential colleagues
Staff room All available staff
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Individual interviews with
principal
Principal’s offi ce Principal and HR manager
12:45 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch School cafeteria
1:30 – 3: 00 p.m. Staff panel interviews Offi ce 201
Deputy principal,
department head, teacher
from department, and HR
manager
3: 00 – 4:30 p.m. Student panel interviews Classroom 104 Four
students
4:30 – 5: 00 p.m. Q & A session Principal’s offi ce Principal
and HR manager
*Candidates are required to deliver a 20-minute teaching
session. Full details are
provided to the candidate including the following information:
The number
23. How do you think your present colleagues and managers would
Questions asked by teachers on an interview panel:
What innovative teaching methods have you used successfully
Which subjects do you enjoy teaching a) the most and b) the
How would you deal with disruptive students in the classroom?
Give an example of how you use technology to enhance your
Questions asked by the HR manager:
What training and development opportunities have you taken
What are your career plans for the next a) fi ve years and b) ten
What support would you like Southwood to provide if your
successful?
Questions asked by students:
What do you think the most important characteristics of an
26. 2. Would you re-employ this person in your organization in the
future?
Yes ❑ No ❑ (If no, please provide details on a separate sheet.)
3. Do you have any doubts about this person’s suitability for the
job?
Yes ❑ No ❑ (If yes, please provide details on a separate sheet.)
4. Please confi rm your contact information and relationship
with the candidate:
Your name:
Your position:
Your organization:
How do you know the candidate?
Please return this completed form by e-mail to [email protected]
Reference Details
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free of charge at www.shrm.org/hreducation/cases.asp.
If you are not a SHrm member and would like to become one,
please visit www.shrm.org/join.
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